Supporting and propelling mechanism for motor vehicles



Feb. 23 1926;

' F. A. NILSSON SUPPORTING AND PROPELLING MECHANISM FOR MOTOR VEHICLES Filed March 24, 1922 9 Sheets-Sheet 1 Feb. 23 ,1926. 1,574,679

F. A. NILSSON SUPPORTING AND PROPELLING MECHANISM FOR MOTOR VEHICLES Filed March 24, 1922 9 Sheets-Sheet 2 Feb. 23 1926. 35%,5'?

F. A. NILSSQN SUPPORTING AND PROPELLING MECHfiNISM FOR MOTOR VEHICLES Filed March 24-, 1922 9 Sheeis Sheat 3 Feb. 23 ,1926, 1,574,679

' F. A. NILSSON SUPPORTING AND PROPELLING MECHANISM FOR MOTOR VEHICLES Filed March 24', 1922 9 Sheets-Sheet 4 Feb. 23', 1926'. 1,574,679

F. NILSSON I SUPPORTING AND PROPELLING MECHANISM FOR MOTOR VEHICLES Filed March 24, 1922 9 Sheets-Sheet 5 Feb 23 ,1926;

F. A. NILSSON' SUPPORTING AND PROPELLING MECHANISM FOR MOTOR VEHICLES Filed March 24, 1922 9 sh ets-shat e Feb. 23 19268 7 F. A. NILSSQN SUPPORTING AND PROPELLING MECHANISM FOR MOTOR vEHIqLEs Filed March 24, 1922 9 Sheets-Sheet 7 Feb. 23 1926.

1,574,679 F. A. NILSSON I SUPPORTING AND PROPELLING MECHANISM FOR MOTOR VEHICLES Filed March 24, 1922 9 Sheets-Sheet s Feb; 23 ,1926. 1,574,679

F. A. NILSSON SUPPORTING AND PROPELLING MECHANISM FOR MOTOR VEHICLES Filed March 24, 1922 i 9 sheets-sheet 9 Patented Feb. 23, 1926.

RI ALBERT NILSSON, on KABLSKQG-A,WEDEN.

SUPPORTING A D BBQ ELLINQ JZ QE'Q H Q? EQR'MQ QR EHQLPF Application filed March 2 4, 1922. Serial 110.546,?03,

To all 20/102171 it vi /1,7 concern:

Be it known that I, Fnrrz ALBERT NrLssox, a citizen of the Kingdom of Sweden, residing at Karlsl-z oga, Sweden, have invent ed new and useful Supporting and Propelling lsjleehanism for'Motorvehioles, of wl-iichthe following is aspeeifioation.

My invention relates to motor vehicles and has for its object to provide a supporting and propelling mechanism for motorvehicles, and more especially for motor plows and traction engines which comprises a plnrality of and feet that are cansed to move in a manner like those of a horse.

The object of this invention is to provide an improved mechanism of this kind n which a uniform speed oft-travel of the vehicle 111a he obtained by two. legs only.

A feature ot this invention consists. in the provision of means for imparting such a movement to the legsthat the feet thereon are caused to move on a somewhat straight line and at a low stroke, that is, when they are in contact with the gronnd, bntare caused to move ate higher speed in their return stroke, that is, when they are out of contact with the ground. a

Another feature of the invent on involves means for imparting such movement as cause the feet thereof to, move at an approx V n' ately constant speed during said working stroke and at a successively accelerated speed along the first half portion of the return stroke, and at a successively retarded speed durii'ig the last half portion of said retnrn stroke. 'lhese and other features ot the inyention will clearly appear from the following description, reference being had to the drawing in which several emhodnnents of the intention are illustrated.

Fig; 1 is a sideelevatioll, with part in section, vof a leg with its operi-itii g means; Fig. l israsimilar View showing the relative position of the parts n hen the foot is at the point 7) in Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a similar View. snoiving the relative position of the parts with the foot at the point a n li g l and Fig. 1 isa similar, iew showmg the position of. the parts with the .i'oot at the point (lain Fig. 1 F g. 2 is a vertical see speed (h ring their Yi li l tion of a pair of legs with their. operating mechanisms, Figsfi, 4 5, illustrate another g ipe ghan v I h is tideelevationof said mechanism with part section: Fig. t is a oross section, with partsfin elevation; of the means for reeiprocating a pair of legs. Fig. 5 is e 7 0 7%? F Q of sa d m a si Fig-1 6 the ut in s f a m an g ne 0. a a @1 e Q r i' g o h p esen i entie with two steering Wheels provided at its front end and apair of near. its rear erl Figs. 7-1L inclusive, illustrate differf. e assions We ep iat es e ialt'a cyele 'of operation thereof. reference to the embodiment shown in Figs 1, 1", 1, 1 and the numeral 1. in-

' one of a pair of legs which are ant illnntra te one of thenionly. The leg 1 i el -t d tape and to. a te of s2 mo ed fasito form a substantially pal'g 'uide for said npperend of. the

I betw i the ends thereof a eon- QMOQQDYQX. am 3 directd loi lint fdly h cm 3 is formed with enternal teeth; Meshingconstantly in said teeth is a pinion at rotatably monnted inthe rigid frame 500i the ehicle. The 2 ed cam 3 as Well as the pinion 4 are l with cooperatingsniooth contaet surfaces 5 and .(3, respectively, along with .the teeth, 5 l contact surfaces corresponding to the p h eir esoftheeam 3 and the pinion l. ly. This enables the pinion ii'to' he e d with great power against the toothed cam 3 vithoutcansing itsteethto descend to the bottom of the tooth-spaces in the cam. Carried by the leg 1. above the can 3 is a roller 7. Said roller engages the eurve shaped inner all of a cain wc'lisk S attached to the frame of: the vei The piniond receives driving power from a motor, not shon'n, by means that will be now d esc'rihed. A; tnbnlar shaft 9 (Fig. 2), inch is connected to the motor to be driven therelro ni at a constant speed oarries a pinionlO formingthe snn wheel of a sun and pla iet Wheel gear the planet wheels ll embodiment of I the entire supporting and Real y a t ched -'toft g n at y i vith the convex portion 'angularly shapedlever 18 pivoted to the frame at 51 and connected to the leg 1 by means of a link 19 (Fig. 2).

The operation of the above described supporting and propelling means is as follows:

Let it be assumed that the driving shaft 9 is rotated in counterclockwise direction (Fig. 1*). The sun wheel 10 attached to the shaft 9 rotates the planet wheels 11. The planet wheels 11, in turn, will tend to rotate the casing 15 due to their engagement in the internal teeth thereof. As the casing 15 cannot rotate freely because of the engagement between its teeth 16 and the toothed segment 1?, the planet wheels 11 are caused to roll upon the internal toothed rim of the casing 15 and will thus cause the yoke 12 together with the shaft 13 and the pinion 4 to rotate in counterclockwise direction. The pinion 4- which is now in engagement with the upper concave portion of the t othed cam 3 tends to move said cam to the right inFi 1*. As the caniB is rigidly attached to the leg 1 there will, thus, also be tendency to-move the leg 1 to the right. Owing,however, to the engagement of the foot 17 inthe' ground, said tendency will result ina movement of the pinion 4'and the vehicle to the left. Due to the concave shape of the upper portion of the cam 3, the frame with the mechanism may inovehorizontally while maintaining the engagement between the foot 17 and the ground, inasmuch as the distance between the pinion 4 and the foot 17 will successively grow longer ac- (ording as the pinion approaches the left end of the cam, as is readily understood by an inspection of Figs. 1' and 1 With the pinion 4 at the said left end of the cam 3 the-position of the parts will be that shown in Fig. 1". From said figure itwill also be seen that the toothed segment 17 due to its connection with the leg 1 has moved upwardly from its intermediate position shown in Fig. 1. This movement has caused a rotationof the toothed rim 16 and the casing 15 in clockwise direction. In the operation described the planet Wheels 11 were rotating'the yoke 12 and the pinion 4 in counterclockwise direction. Due to the ro tation of the casing in clockwise direction the speed of rotation of the yoke with the 121111011 is slow relatively tothe speed that would have been obtained if the casing had been at'rest. As the speed of rotation'of the pinion is slow the propelling of the vehicle as above described will be accordingly slow. The design of the mechanism is such that the rotation of the pinion 4 will be substantially constant during the period, during which the leg is in engagement with the ground.

When the position shown in Fig. 1 is reached and the pinion 4 moves around the left end of cam 3 the pinion will. allow the cam to move upwardly under the control of the roller 7 and guide-way 8,so that the leg is lifted and its foot 17 removed from the ground. When the pinion comes into engagement with the lower convex portion of said cam, the pinion 4 will move the cam 3 together with the leg 1 and the released foot to the left. Owing to the convex shape of the cam portion now engaged by the pinion 4, the cam 8 together with the leg will at the same time positively lift the cam to still more lift the leg and its foot. The leg 1, when moving to the left, will cause the link 19 to turn the toothed segment 17 downwardly. This effects a counterclockwise rotation of the toothed rim 16 and the casing 15. With the casing 15 rotating counterclockwise, that is, in the same direction as the driving shaft 9, the planet wheels 11 will move the yoke 12 and the pinion at a high speed relatively to the speed obtained when the casing 15 is at rest and at a still higher speed relatively to the speed obtained when the casing 15 is rotating in clockwise direction, as hereinbefore described. The said higher speed of rotation of the pinion 4 results in a correspondingly increased speed of the cam 3 and the leg 1. It is easy to see that owing to the convex'shape of the under portion of the cam 3, the horizontal length that the cam 3 and the leg 1 are moved for each revolutionof the pinion 4 will be the greater according as the pinion approaches the lowermost or central point of said convex portion. The speed of the movement of the leg will thus be successively increased according a. the leg approaches the position shown in Fig. 1 and will be highest when the leg reaches said last-mentioned position. In this position the leg is in its uppermost position, as shown. The toothed segment 17 is in this case in its intermediate position relatively to the toothed rim l6 engaged thereby. v

The pinion 4 in its continued rotation from said position will still move the cam 23 together with the leg 1 forward. In this continued movement. however, the cam '23 will be allowed to deszend successively, as is easily understood from the drawing. The toothed segment 17 is still turned downward I with the said higher speed and the pinion l is thus still rotating at the high speed as above described. Owing, however, to the fact that the pinion 4 will now come into engagement with the more and more inclined right hand half of the convex portion of the cam 3, the horizontallei'i'gtli of movement imparted to the cam and the leg by the pinion at each revolution of the latter will be successively decreasech vVl'ien the pinion 4t passes the rightend of the cam 3' the direction 01 'mov'emeifit of the cairn 3- togcther with the leg 1 is again reversed and the direction of movement of the segmeiit 17 is likewise reversed so as to reverse the rotation o l the casing l5 in order to decrease the speed of the: pinion 4' in the manner already described.

' The operation of the mechanism from the position shown in Fig. 1? to the position shown in Fig. 1 is similar tothe operation of said mechanism from the position Fig. l to the position Fig. 1 andneed' not be described in detail.

' The operationof the roller 7 is to secure a constant operative engagement between the pinion 4t and the earn 3, the shape of the guide-way 8 for said roller to this" end being such as to cause the leg to always} naintain the cam 3" in engagement with said pinion.

The path described by-the foot 17 cycle above described is indicated by 18" in the drawing.

From the above description it is clear that the leg itseli controls the ratio of gearingofthe sun and planet wheel gear by meansof link 19, lever 18", toothed segment I? and tooth-ed rim 16. k

By means of a single pair of alternately operating mechanisms of the described design together with their legs a vehicle may be propelled effectively at a. uniform speed.

In Figs. 7-11 successive relative positions of two such legs during halt a cycle ot'oper ation thereof are shown. In; said figures the legs are indicated by 1 and 1 respec-' tively.

In Figs. 3.5 I have shown a modified form oi. the operating mechanism for one of a pair of legs. In this construction theleg 24- is guided vertically at its upper end, in the same way as described in connection with At its the embodiment already described. lower end the'leg 24carri'es afoot which pivoted to the legat 3a to rotate relatively tl'iereto. To limit the said relative rotation of the foot the foot is provided with abutments 35 to cooperate with abiitments 36 on the leg. This arrangement for the purpose of securing the most etl ecti ve engage nient oi the foot in the ground.

The operating niiechanrsmfor one leg inclndes as before the tubular driving shaft 9' mounted on. the frame" 50 of the vehicle anddriven in any approprlate way ironr the driving motor (not shown"); a sun wheel 10' on the shaft 9, planet wheels 1 1 engaged bysaid'sun wheel and engaging,-i 1 turn-, internal teeth of a casing 15,1an1d a dishf12 carrying'said planet wheels andrigi'dly conin theneeted through the shaft 13' to a pinion 4. The casing 15 is termed as before with ex ternal teethl'ez The pinion 4t in this case engages an externally toothed cam 22 carried by a lever pivotedto the leg The teeth 16- of the casing LS-are engaged by a toothed segment 27 mounted in the frame 50 at 26. Said segment 2"? is rigidly connected to a lever also mounted at 2%; and pivoted at its other end to the lever 23. Big l ly mounted on the frame is a stationary earn 3 1 having a cam shaped opening engaged by a roller 36) mounted on a stud carried by the toothed cam 2221s shown in Fig.

The operation of this mechanism is as follows as seen from the position shown in Fig. 35 The driving shaft 9,- when drivem is moving in clockwise direction. The shaft 9, in operation, rotates tho-sun wheel 10' which in turn tends to rotate the planet wheels I1 in counterclockwise direction. The planet wheels 11' due to tl ieir'engagcment in the internal teeth of the casing 15 are caused to roll upon said' teeth because of. the fact that the ca g 15' Cannot rotate freely. The planet wheels 11 in said rolling causes the disc 12* together with the shaft- 13 and the pinion t to rotate clockwise. The pinion 4 which engages the lower straight portion of the cam 22', causes the cam. 22 to move to the rightrelatively to the pinion 4 (Fig. 3). The cam 22 and its supporting arm 23,- however,- cannot move to the right due to the connection of the arm 23 to the leg 24 which is prei' ented from moving to the right because of its engagement in the groinid. The result of the operation of the cam 22135 the pinion twill thusbe a rolling of the pinion 4 err-the cain22'to the-left. As the pinion cannot move to the left relatively tothe vehicle".

frame the vehicle frame is propelled accordingly to the left. The upper point of the leg 24 moves with the frame as itsguiding' link system is carried by the frame. In other words, the leg 245 will swing to the left with its upper end while maintaining the engagement of th'e'foot in the ground. The shaft 26 is also moved tothe left by the frame, This means that the lever arm will successively turn to theright around the axis of the shaft 26. [is the lever arm 25 is rigidly connected to the toothed ment- 27 the latter is caused to successively turnupwardly. The segment 27, in turn, rotates the toothed rim 16' together with the casing 15' in coimterclock-wise direction. The casing 15', when rotating in counterclockwise direction, decreases the speed of the movement of the planet wheels 11 to getherwith the disc 12 and" the-pinion d i'n cloclnvise direction as explained hereinr with the leg 24 propelling the frame to the left the speed of rotation of the pinion l will thus be very slow. The speed of travel of the frame is accordingly slow.

When the pinion 4: reachesv the lower left end of the cam. 22, the latter is moved downwardly by the pinion thereby causing the supporting lever 23 to swing about its con.-

nection with the lever arm 25 so as to.

lift the leg to release the foot 33 from it's engagement in the ground. The segment 27 is still turning upwardly, inasmuch as the leg at continues to swing in the samedirection as before because its lower end. is moved to the right. This continues till the pinion -l reaches the extreme left middle point of the left hand portion of the cam 22. \Vhen this point is reached the segment 27 has reached its uppermost position and. the foot 33 is now at the point 7) (Fig.

In the continued rotation of'the pinion &, while being still in engagement with the said left portion of the cam 22, the latter is still 'moved downwardly. In this movement the leg is successively returned to an upright position inasmuch as its lower end is now moved to the left and at the same time lifted. Due hereto the lever arm 25 is turned to the left and commences to rotate the toothed segment 27 downwardly. The toothed segment, in turning downwardly, rotates the toothed rim 16' with the casing 15 in clockwise direction. The casing 15 is thus now rotating in the same direction as the sun wheel 10 of the sun and planet wheel gear thereby causing the planet wheels 11 with the yoke 12 and the pinion to rotate more rapidly than would be the case if the casing 15 were held'stationary and still more rapid relatively to the speed of rotation obtained with the casing rotating counterclockwise, as above described.

This rapid rotation of the pinion 4 re sults in a correspondingly rapid movement of the cam 22 together with the leg to the left. This rapid rotation continues until the pinion at reaches the right end of the cam 29 whereupon the direction of swinging of the leg .and thus also the direction of rotation of the casing 15 is again reversed thereby again giving the pinion 4 a reduced speed of rotation in the way already described.

The means for reciprocating the legs are so constructed that the tractor may travel in both directions. The reversal of the direction of travel of the tractor may be obtained by reversing the direction of movement of the driving motor or by introducing an intermediate wheel in the transmission between the motor and the legs.

with the constructions described two legs aresuflicient to give the vehicle an even propelling movement the legs being alternately moved to and fro. In such case the difference in speed during the operative and inoperative stroke of each leg may be such as to secure that, as shown in Figs. 10-14:, either of the two legs will always be in contact with the ground so that as regards the supporting and propelling effect, two legs will correspond to a traction wheel. As shown in Fig. 2, the feet of the legs are so shaped that their inner edges will extend laterally one over the other with the result that the width of the path on which the legs may walk-will be sufliciently small to allow both of the legs to travel in a common furrow or the like. For steering purposes one or more steering wheels may be provided, as shown at 4-0 in Fig. 6.

What I claim is i 1. A supporting and propelling mechanism for motor vehicles, comprising a frame, legs having feet thereon to support said frame, means for causing said legs to move with their feet rearwardly relative to the frame along a substantially straight line with the feet in contact with the ground, to lift the legs at the end of said movement and move same so as to cause the feet thereof to describe a curved path having rounded off edges and an extended convex top, and means controlled bythc legs themselves to cause the legs to move with their feet at an approximately constant speed during said rearward movement and to cause the legs to move with their feet at a successively accelerated speed along'the first half portion of said curved path and at a successively retarded speed during the last half portion of said curved path and said means being further so constructed that the time required for each foot to move along said curved path is substantially equal to the time required for the foot to move along said straight line.

2. A supporting and propelling mechanism for motor vehicles, comprising a frame, a plurality of legs having feet thereon for supporting said frame, means comprising a successively variable speed gearing for each leg, for causing saidlegs to move with their feet rearwardly relative to the frame along a substantially straight line, to lift the legs at the end of said movement and move same in a curved path, and means controlled by the leg fonadjusting said variable speed gearing to change the speed of the reciprocating movement of the legs during each cycle of operation thereof so as to cause the legs to move with the feet at an approximately constant speed during said rearward movement and to cause the legs to move with the feetat a successively accelerated speed during the first half of said curved path movement and at a successively retarded speed during the last half of said curved path movement.

3. A supporting and propelling mechanism for motor vehicles, Comprising a frame,

a plurality of legs having feet thereon for supporting said frame, means for reeiprocating said legs, said means comprising for each leg a sun and planet Wheel gear, and means controlled by the leg for varying the ratio of gearing of said sun and planet Wheel gear during the cycle of operation of the leg.

4. A supporting and propelling mechanism for motor vehicles, comprising a frame, a'plurality of legs having feet thereon for supporting said frame, means for reciprocating said legs, said means comprising for each leg a sun and planet wheel gear, a toothedcam attached to the leg, a pinion mounted in said frame and'engaging in said cam, means rigidly connected to said pinion for supporting the planet Wheels of said sun and planet wheel gear, a rotatably mounted toothed rim engaged by said planet Wheels, and means controlled by the leg to turn said toothed rinr-to and fro to successively increase and decrease the ratio of gearing of the sun and planet Wheel gear during each cycle of operation of the leg. 7

5. A supporting and propelling mechanism for motor vehicles, comprising a frame, a plurality of-legs having feet thereon for supporting said frame, means for reciprocating said legs and thereby propelling the frame, said means comprising for each leg a sun and planet Wheel gear, a toothed cam attached to the leg, a pinion mounted in said frame and engaging in said cam, means rigidly connected to said pinion for supporting' the planet Wheels of said sun and planet wheel gear, a rotatably mounted toothed rim engaged by said planet Wheels, another toothed rim rigidly connected to said fistmentioned toothed rim, a toothed segment engaging said other toothed rim, an angularly shaped lever rigidly connected to said toothed segment and a link connecting said lever to the leg.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name.

FRITZ ALBERT NILSSON. 

